Close to 100 Snohomish County residents turned out on March 25 for a concert in Marysville that drew attention to the global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic.

Not many people know that there is an actual World TB Day, which was March 24. What does the attendance of this event say about our community? To me, it means that we want to understand the realities and complexities of those who have lost a loved one to this preventable and curable disease.

Unfortunately, 2 million people died from TB last year worldwide. Those 2 million have left behind millions more to grieve. This event also underscored that Snohomish County residents are interested in the bigger picture of our world and are looking for tangible ways to “act locally” yet have an impact globally concerning health, education and economic prosperity. The concert was organized by Snohomish County RESULTS, a grassroots advocacy group that lobbies members of Congress regarding global health, education and issues of poverty.

Those attending the concert learned how TB is devastating communities throughout sub-Saharan Africa, where 1,500 people will perish today because of TB. TB is the leading cause of death of those living with AIDS in Africa, even though treatment for TB can cost under $16. TB treatment is complex and includes issues of social stigmas, appropriate diagnostic tools, availability of TB drugs, and multi-drug-resistant TB strains. TB is an airborne bacteria that can pass from person to person when someone has active pulmonary TB. It is also an opportunistic disease, so when a child, a parent, or grandparent has a weakened immune system, TB will thrive.

Two days after the World TB concert, a glimmer of hope for millions was shining in Washington, D.C., as the bipartisan Stop TB Now Act of 2006 was introduced into the House of Representatives. In January, the “Global Plan to Stop TB 20062015: Actions for Life” was introduced by the Stop TB Partnership and the World Health Organization. If fully implemented, the Global Plan could save at least 14 million lives, treat 50 million people, expand access to TB treatment for all patients, and eliminate TB as a global health problem by 2050. This new legislation, the Stop TB Now Act of 2006, translates the goals and policies of the Global Plan into U.S. action to control and eradicate TB.

Yet, with so many issues begging for the attention of our members of Congress, this act could easily be forgotten. However, by simply letting your representative know about this important Stop TB Now Act, you will be acting locally and impacting the lives of millions globally.

A song was specifically written for our World TB concert by local songwriters Kim Longmore and Paul Henderson. The lyrics describe the hope for our world and the importance for us to take responsibility to act on behalf of those, caught up in an epidemic that desperately needs attention and funding:

I’d thought by now in this place in this time

We’d wiped out disease that leave our children to die.

I’d thought by now in this place in this time,

We’d have the cure to keep all children alive.

What was I thinking? Was I waiting for?

Someone to do it, someone else to provide.

It’s time to wake up and do ‘something’ now.

Yes I see, it begins with you, it begins with me.

I am a part of the reason, we’re part of the plan.

I am taking one step, making one stand.

I’ll move humankind to a world of peace.

Yes I see, it begins with you, it begins with me.

Teresa Rugg is the group leader of the nonprofit, grassroots Snohomish County RESULTS group. The purpose of RESULTS is to create the political will to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty. For more information about Snohomish RESULTS, contact Rugg at 360-862-9034 and view www.RESULTS.org.